Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Bellevue Through Sprockets and Camera Phones

On my other PI blog this week, I wrote about how the film cameras in my collection still get a workout. Typically I blend all my resources to document Bellevue – Camera phone, film cameras, and digital. I don’t strive to capture the perfect side of Bellevue, rather my focus has been to capture the details of a city as it lives from day to day. If all I have with me during that moment is a camera phone, then I grab and snap. Sometimes I do intentionally bring my best equipment (watch for next week’s post).

And other times I lower my expectations and grab the Holga.

The 120N is a medium-format plastic wonder of Asian manufacturing machine. I’ve shared Holga shots here before. Pictures are spooky and distorted due to quality control, and each camera takes pictures differently. I bought the first one sold by Bellevue’s Omega Photo in May 2009, for the princely sum of $35; it has been modified with tape and cardboard to work better, as the camera has worn out. Light leaks are an assumed part of the experience, and oddly can become part of the feeling behind the image. Sealing up the camera with tape before shooting helps. Some people might wonder, “why go to all that trouble to make pictures like that?”

Because it’s fun and, perfect or not, I have a negative to show for my experiment.

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Running 35mm film through a medium-format Holga

My latest project has been to run 35mm film through the medium-format camera. 35mm is skinnier than the film that goes in a 120N normally, and the result is that the entire 35mm negative is used as part of the photo – with the sprocket holes and coded edges of the medium becoming part of the overall image. Pulling this off is simple: Place the film cartridge inside the camera, jam some paper towel on each end to keep it centered, and then tape the end of the roll to the take-up roller. Tape the living daylights out of the camera with something dark (I use electrical tape most of the time), while sealing up all the seams and also the red view window on the back (used to count medium-format film frames).

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Advance the winder 34 clicks for each frame so there isn’t any overlap between pictures; towards the end of the roll, a person can advance 31 or 32 clicks instead. Once the roll is done, go into an absolutely dark room and wind the film back into the canister by hand. The developed negatives look like nothing else!
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NE 24th and 148th

The first roll was a disaster, and was exposed weirdly because I didn’t seal off the window in back well enough. The second roll came out much better. For doing all of this, I was (jokingly) accused recently by a friend of being a Hipster – that far-too-cool character who is soaked in sarcasm and fed on a steady diet of Pabst Blue Ribbon, American Spirit filterless cigarettes, and analog technology. If I were about twenty years younger and was pierced somewhere not seen in regular life, I might be just that. But I do like my film cameras and record player. If anything, shooting film for the sole purpose of seeing what happens is really part of the charm. Have fun; life should demand it.

Check out some of the results from my second roll:

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Chevelle

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Sprocket Glory

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Old Z

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New Z

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Old Soldiers

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Old Lincoln

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Very Very Berry

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Camera phones can also offer enjoyment, through their convenience and ability to capture life in the moment; over the last couple years, applications on the phones themselves have given users the chance to take a benign grainy cameraphone pic and turn it into an expression of their creativity. I prefer Pixlr Express, Flickr, Posterous, and Instagram to share what I snap with my phone.

Check out of my recent shots from the last week:

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Butterfly

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Smoking On The Dock

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The Elder Statesman Holds Court

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Columns Of Commerce - Sears on 148th

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Columns Of Visibility - Jitters Coffee in Redmond Overlake

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Spring Goes Sproing

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Whether it’s a taped-up thirty-five dollar plastic camera or a phone dug out of your pocket, taking pictures for the sheer enjoyment of it can be in the hands of everyone. Bellevue’s out there; find a corner of town and snap the sauce out of it. And while you’re out, enjoy the view!

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.